Soldiers, Moro guerrillas clash anew in Sultan Kudarat town

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Soldiers, backed by militiamen, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels clashed in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat the other day, pounding each other’s position with heavy firepower.

Another heavy firefight lasting more than one hour occurred between Moro guerrillas and militiamen in Barangay Macabendan in Carmen, North Cotabato, leaving a number of rebels dead, said Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, spokesman of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command.

The hostilities in Sultan Kudarat erupted just as members of the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion were deactivating a powerful improvised explosive planted at a Petron gasoline station in Esperanza town.

Local leaders in the neighboring towns of Datu Paglas, Maguindanao and Columbio said three rebels, whom they identified as Sumablao, Salik and Bungkas, were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, which waned only after the military fired rockets on the rebels from MG-520 attack helicopters to prevent them from getting near populated areas.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu accused the military of provoking the hostilities by intruding into known rebel strongholds in Sultan Kudarat supposedly in the guise of running after members of the Pentagon kidnapping gang.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division based here, confirmed that soldiers and lawless elements figured in gunbattles in Barangay Polomolok in Columbio town, but clarified that the hostilities erupted when the gunmen opened fire on government combatants pursuing an armed group there.

Ando said the soldiers were dispatched to Barangay Polomolok on the behest of villagers who reported the presence of men brandishing high-powered firearms and collecting revolutionary taxes there.

Meanwhile, Ando said intelligence units of the 301st Infantry Brigade in Tacurong City are now tracking down those behind the foiled bombing attempt in Esperanza.

The bomb, he said, was fashioned from a live 105 Howitzer cannon projectile, which has a 50-meter effective radius.

"We are convinced that this live cannon round was used in the shelling of rebel positions in Sultan Kudarat two years ago, but did not explode. It was just fortunate that those who found the explosive immediately sought help from authorities so it was defused promptly," he said.

The hostilities in Columbio and the foiled bombing of a gasoline station at the town proper of Esperanza were preceded by skirmishes between suspected MILF rebels and civilian volunteers in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

Ando said the rebels slowly approached a detachment of civilian volunteers in Barangay Kitapok, Datu Piang and without warning, opened fire with assault rifles and M-79 shoulder-fired grenades.

A militiaman, Joco Sacandal, was killed in the initial exchange of gunfire. Although outnumbered, the militiamen, Ando said, managed to hold on to their positions and shoot it out with the rebels until military reinforcements arrived. – With Roel Pareño and Jaime Laude